Article Archive - September 28, 2007

Cotija adds a zing to dishes as the ‘Mexican Parmesan’

Editor’s note: Each month CMN profiles a different cheese, giving our readers a comprehensive look at production, marketing and sales, as well as any other details we can unearth. Please read on to learn about this month’s featured cheese: Cotija.

By Rena Archwamety

MADISON, Wis. — Cotija might not be a household name yet in the United States like Cheddar or Parmesan, but demand for this robust, dry and salty cheese is growing steadily.

Originating from the Michoacan region of Mexico in a town called Cotija de la Paz, Cotija is well-known and liked among Hispanics and ranks second only to Queso Fresco in popularity.

“If you’re going to be a Hispanic cheese manufacturer, you want to be in the Cotija business,” says Fred Yoder, CFO, Mexican Cheese Producers (MCP) Inc, Monroe, Wis.

Cotija is produced at high temperatures and with lots of salt — around 4 percent — which gives it a hard texture that is ideal for grating. After the whey is drained, the curd is milled by grinding it into small particles, allowing the cheese to crumble easily. The cheese then is aged or lipases are added to enhance the flavor.

“Cotija definitely is the most robust of the Hispanic- or Mexican-style cheeses in the market,” says Tirso Iglesias, director of marketing, Cacique, City of Industry, Calif. He says consumers can use Cotija to add a touch of flavor to any dish, such as refried beans, soups or salads. Because it is hard to melt, people can even cube it, fry it up in a pan and use it as croutons. A popular traditional Mexican recipe takes corn on the cob, dips it in cream and rolls it in Cotija to add flavor.

With its strong salty taste and ease of grating or crumbling, Cotija is generally used more as a topping than a table cheese.

“Some people refer to it as ‘Mexican Parmesan,’ though it has a completely different flavor profile,” Yoder says.

As with other Hispanic-style cheeses, Cotija has enjoyed a steady consumption increase in the United States paralleling the increasing Hispanic population. According to the U.S. census bureau, the Hispanic population is the fastest-growing minority group, with a 3.4 percent increase between 2005 and 2006, as well as the largest minority group, comprising nearly 15 percent of the country’s population.

According to Information Resources Inc. scanner data, combined random- and exact-weight Cotija sales totaled more than 2.3 million pounds in 2006, an increase of 4.7 percent since 2003.

In 1996, USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) started to track Hispanic cheese production in a separate category. According to NASS, production of combined Hispanic cheeses rose from 67.4 million pounds in 1996 to more than 102.6 million pounds in 2001. This total increase of 52 percent in five years makes Hispanic cheeses one of the fastest-growing cheese markets in the dairy industry.

Everyone wants in on that market, Yoder says, because the Hispanic population is such a large market force. But while MCP sells cheese to some more mainstream chains, he says, most Cotija sales still occur in traditional Hispanic stores rather than supermarkets.

“Especially first-generation immigrants are more comfortable shopping in stores owned by Hispanics,” he says. “We also sell cheese to Wal-Mart, but overall (it’s more) in the Hispanic markets.”

Producers say sales are consistent throughout most U.S. regions, though not much data are available on the density of sales in various regions.

“With Cotija, sales are difficult to track since data clump all Hispanic cheeses together,” says Diane Van Hekken, research chemist, USDA Agricultural Research Service. She says most of the manufacturers of Cotija are in California or Wisconsin, though where a cheese is manufactured and where it is sold can be different.

“My (Cotija) cheese is selling in California, New York, Chicago, Texas and many other states,” says Ausensio Ariza, owner of Ariza Cheese, Paramount, Calif. “Sometimes we sell more outside California than inside California.”

“It would surprise people who think (Cotija) sells mostly in the Southwest, but the entire United States is a fantastic market,” says Bill Hoesly, new product manager, Wisconsin Cheese Group, Monroe, Wis. “New England sales are big; the Florida area is big. There’s a market everywhere.”

With an increasing population of consumers already familiar with the cheese, Cotija sales appear in no danger of falling in the near future. The biggest challenge facing the industry, however, is capturing “crossover” sales by appealing to non-Hispanic consumers who are not as familiar with the cheese. Sampling, recipe suggestions and broader distribution are a few tools companies are hoping will help sales to surge.

There has been no decline in Cotija sales, Iglesias says, but growth is at best moderate.

“It’s definitely one of those cheeses you have to be aware of to buy it,” he says. “Increase in sales growth has come from population growth. It has yet to take off, but it’s stable.”

Yoder says educating people on the usage of Cotija is critical to the cheese’s growth. The key lies in creating more awareness and a presence through wider distribution and sampling.

“People are not sure what to do with it,” Yoder says. “Basically it’s an awareness situation. Until the consumer knows how to use it, we won’t get crossover.

“As products are demonstrated, we pick up consumers,” he adds.

Iglesias also says that sampling has helped Cacique reach not only its main consumers, who are first-generation Hispanics, but also non-Hispanic consumers.

“For us, sampling and creating grassroots awareness of (Cotija) helps us out,” he says. “We know it is growing with current consumers, but it’s also reaching out to non-consumers, utilizing our retail partners. The general market definitely is underserved.”

Another way Cacique reaches out to the general market is through its website, where people can read about Cotija and browse through recipes.

“Now on our website there are 10 or so recipes for Cotija,” Iglesias says, “from croutons to crumbled on corn to grilled ham and cheese. There are a lot of crossover applications that people don’t know about because they’re not familiar with it.”

Better distribution and more awareness, as well as increased interest in authentic ingredients, has helped Wisconsin Cheese Group’s Cotija sales as well, according to Hoesly. He believes growth is due in equal parts to the expanding Hispanic population and general consumer interest.

“People are getting away from chain-type food and into real recipes,” he says. “That makes demand for Cotija and other cheeses grow.”

The future for Cotija in this country seems bright, but Iglesias says it will depend on how companies are able to expand awareness.

“As long as companies such as ourself continue to commit to awareness, growth should be predicted,” he says.

Hoesly remains optimistic as well.

“I only see the market growing larger,” he says. “Between the Hispanic population growing and the rest of the population interested in new recipes, there’s only one direction it can go.”

CMN

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